But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. (Hebrews 10:12-13)

The One Sacrifice

The Garden of Eden was where the grace of God was first realized after the fall of man. Before the Lord expelled Adam and Eve from the garden, He clothed them in tunics of skin. This required the death of some animals to clothe Adam and Eve. From the beginning of time, animal sacrifice has been necessary to establish a covenant between God and man. Since the first sacrifice of Abel, the firstborn of his flock and their fat, untold millions of animals have been offered up for the atonement of sin.

After the flood, Noah took of every clean animal and every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. When the Lord came to Abraham to reaffirm the covenant, animals were sacrificed. Moses established the Law with the Hebrews at Sinai with sacrifice, sprinkling the blood on the people to remind them of the blood covenant which the Lord made with them. Under the Law of Moses, compulsory sacrifices could number more than 1,269 a year. The numbers would be in the tens of thousands, reflecting offerings from special feast days and sacrifices by individuals.

When Solomon was anointed king of Israel, they made sacrifices to the Lord and burnt offerings, including one thousand bulls, a thousand rams, and one thousand lambs. At the dedication of Solomon’s Temple, twenty-two thousand bulls and one hundred and twenty thousand sheep were sacrificed. Earlier, when the Ark of the Covenant was brought to the Temple, sheep and oxen were sacrificed that could not be counted or numbered for multitude. During the reforms of Asa, seven hundred bulls and seven thousand sheep were sacrificed from the spoil of war against the Ethiopians.

Animal sacrifice has represented the atonement of man to God for generations, leading up to the death of Jesus Christ. With all of the millions of animals killed and sacrificed for the sins of the people, the blood of bulls and goats could not take away sin. There had to be a greater sacrifice. An animal is not made in the image of God. Its blood is not made in the image of the Divine. Man is the only creature made in the image of God, sharing an eternal nature. Among all men, none could be sacrificed who were unblemished. God required sacrifice from the unblemished and unbroken. Great men of faith were blemished. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, tainting the sacrifice. What was needed was a man who was without sin.

Jesus Christ became a man to live under the Law of Moses and to live a sinless, perfect life. He began His ministry at the age of thirty and some three years later was murdered by the world. In the totality of the life of Jesus, He never sinned. He prayed for those who were killing Him. His work from the Father was complete to bring about the ultimate sacrifice to redeem man. The power of His sacrifice is that men are justified before God through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. By one offering, He perfected forever those who are sanctified. Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. The high priest had to enter the Most Holy Place every year with the blood of animals. Jesus suffered once at the end of the ages to put away sin by His sacrifice.

There is no more need for the sacrifice for sin because Jesus made His life the atonement for sin as a gift to all men. His one sacrifice redeemed man. The one cross united God with man. There can be no salvation in the blood of animals. Jesus came once to earth to open the way, to show the truth, and to give life. There will be no other way to the Father. He is the only Word. His blood is the true path to eternal life. That is why there is only one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father of all. Thank you, Jesus, for the one sacrifice.